Bold NFL Predictions — NFC Version

The entire NFC is playing for the chance to be beaten by a resurgent Chiefs team on Valentine’s Day. Who says romance is dead?

The Giants Trade Abdul Carter to the Packers

They certainly should. It’s frankly amazing that he’s still in New Jersey. The former Penn State EDGE defender will be a fine replacement for another Penn State EDGE defender, Micah Parsons.

Parsons’ recovery from an ACL injury means he won’t be able to play in Week 1; in fact, he could miss two months of the regular season.

Jaxson Dart might be honoured to introduce his buddy Donnie at a pep rally, but Carter needs to get as far from that toxicity as he can.

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Carson Beck is Going to be Just Fine Under Mike LaFleur

If this doesn’t seem particularly bold, then you obviously haven’t been following the Carson Beck discourse. If you think he’s good, then he’s definitely the Cardinals’ franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, if you don’t like Beck, he throws the worst passes you’ve ever seen!

The Cardinals' biggest problem is having Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator, but they had Drew Petzing last season, so the only way is up.

It’s impossible to see Hackett having full control over the offense anyway; we all know Aaron Rodgers ran the show while Hackett was supposed to be his coach.

LaFleur, on the other hand, has worked with Matt Stafford, Jimmy Garoppolo and Matt Ryan; that sort of experience is going to be invaluable for developing a rookie quarterback.

The official party line has Jacoby Brissett starting Week 1 (although he is demanding a pay rise), so Beck might not feature until later in the season. A few weeks on the sideline acclimatising to the speed of the NFL wouldn’t be a bad thing, and he will make mistakes when he eventually plays; all rookies do.

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If he ends the season with a 62% completion rate and more passing touchdowns than pick-6s, both Beck and LaFleur have done their jobs.

Jordan Love Leads the NFC in Completion Percentage

Beyond being the NFL quarterback with the biggest delta between their floor and ceiling, nobody seems to know what Jordan Love is. He has thrown four touchdowns and zero interceptions, and he’s also had games where he threw zero touchdowns and three interceptions.

One thing we can say with any certainty is that the 27-year-old has only played a full regular season slate once in five attempts! But this year the Packers have, what should be at least, an elite receiving corps and the returning Tucker Kraft lining up at tight end.

Whether you love or hate Matt LaFleur’s offense (and it’s a bit meh, for my liking), we know that Love can make all the throws. With Savion Williams, the seriously overpaid Christian Watson, the criminally underused Matthew Golden, and, most importantly, Jayden Reed, Love will just need to pick the open guy.

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The Patriots were the only team with a better catch rate than the Packers’ 71.3% (Savion Williams caught all 10 of his targets), but Love ended the season 8th in the NFC (15th in the league) with a 66.3% completion rate. That was behind Tua, Spencer Rattler and Geno Smith!

Adam Stenavich will want his offense to run the ball primarily, but it’s time for LaFleur to take the training wheels off the QB and let him cook.

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The Falcons Have the Best Defense in the Entire NFL

James Pearce Jr. had more than enough controversy during the offseason, but that story seems to be fading away into obscurity. It seems unlikely any charges will be pressed, and who knows if the Falcons will even acknowledge anything happened?

But 18 new faces have arrived on the Falcons’ defense. And their second-round pick, Avieon Terrell, is an absolute stud.

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Avieon is A.J.’s younger brother and followed in his footsteps to Clemson before landing in Hot-lanta. They were both coached by Mike Reed during their time in college, and Reed says Avieon is ahead of his older brother!

The younger Terrell set a record for defensive backs when he forced five fumbles in his final year in college.

He’s not the only shiny new star in the Falcons defensive backfield either. Sydney Brown, Chase’s twin brother, arrives from Philadelphia alongside Darren Hall and Darnay Holmes, who all signed in free agency.

Ulbrich seems to have the perfect mix of experience in the defensive backfield and with newbies, including Samson Ebukam and Azeez Ojulari arriving to bolster the pass rush; the Falcons should dominate opponents.

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The Falcons offense could be inconsistent as Kevin Stefanski tries to get the most out of Michael Penix Jr. (if he’s fit) or Tua, but they won’t have to score a lot of points to succeed.

Charlie Smyth Leads the NFC in Points Scoring

The Saints have the easiest schedule in the NFC, and Kellen Moore is an offensive genius with so many tools who can make chunk plays and score touchdowns.

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Smyth only played in six games, but he kicked all 13 of his PAT’s and nailed a 57-yard field goal!